Mitt Romney Gets Tax Break Off Firm Sending Jobs To China
Sensata Technologies is a healthy manufacturing company that employs nearly 200 workers at a factory in northern Illinois. The company has become the focus of national attention because it has been taken over by Bain Capital, which plans to shut the factory down, lay off the workers, and outsource the production to China before the end of the year.

The workers have pleaded with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the founder of Bain Capital, to exert his considerable influence to save their jobs. Romney still makes millions each year in income from Bain. So far, he has declined to weigh in, and the factory is scheduled to close by the end of the year.

While the workers and the town may suffer, Romney himself has done well as a result of Bain's work with the company. According to his recently released 2011 tax returns, Romney transferred $701,703 worth of Sensata stock to the Tyler Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit controlled by Romney. The gift is listed on page 323 of the pdf, on form 8283 (below).

Moving the stock to his nonprofit brings Romney twin benefits. First, he gets to deduct the full value of the stock. At a 35 percent tax rate, that's nearly a $250,000 benefit. At 15 percent, it's just over $100,000.

Second, Romney is able to avoid paying capital gains taxes on the stock price increase. Romney's returns list no cost for the stock, and indicate he obtained them as part of a partnership interest in Bain. Avoiding capital gains taxes on the full increase would save an additional $100,000. In 2010, Romney gifted $170,000 worth of Sensata stock to his charity, saving $25,000 in capital gains taxes that year.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Estimates are that nearly one out of two tomatoes eaten in the United States comes from Mexico — a statistic Florida growers would like to change, even at the risk of a trade war.

On Thursday, they got a reason to hope.

The United States Department of Commerce signaled then that it might be willing to end a 16-year-old agreement between the United States and some Mexican growers that has kept the price of Mexican tomatoes relatively low for American consumers. American tomato growers say the price has been so low that they can barely compete.

Within hours of the American action, Mexico threatened to retaliate, claiming that the Obama administration was trying to placate farmers in an important swing state.

The financial and banking industries are on high alert tonight as a massive cyberattack continues, with potentially millions of customers of Bank of America, PNC and Wells Fargo finding themselves blocked from banking online.

"There is an elevated level of threat," said Doug Johnson, a vice president and senior adviser of the American Bankers Association. "The threat level is now high."

"This is twice as large as any flood we have ever seen," said Dick Clarke, an ABC News consultant and former cybersecurity czar.

Sources told ABC News that the so-called denial of service attacks had been caused by hackers from the Middle East who had secretly transmitted signals commandeering thousands of computers worldwide.

Those computers -- or "zombies" -- were then used to overwhelm bank websites with a barrage of electronic traffic.

Monroe, who was recovering from cancer
surgery, called the local election board to protest. A local tea party leader
was trying to strike Monroe from the voter rolls for a reason that made no
sense: Her apartment building in Lancaster was listed as a commercial
property.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A see-through solar energy panel announced today by Sharp -- primarily designed for balcony railings and skyscraper windows -- offers an uncommon alternative energy solution and sense of privacy in a single package.

The semi-transparent black solar panel launches in Japan on October 1, and delivers a solar power conversion efficiency of about 6.8-percent with a maximum output of 95 watts. While the low conversion rate seems lackluster comparative to the 10- to 20-percent efficiency standard these days, few see-through solar panel options exist commercially. Overall panel size stands at 4.5-feet wide by 3.2-feet tall and sports a super thin profile of only 0.37 inches.

A related press release notes that the module, which also acts as a heat shield, mostly consists of laminated glass infused with photovoltaic cells. Sharp did not announce plans for a U.S. debut of this nifty panel, nor did the company reveal pricing.

In an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post, Patricia Krentcil -- the "Tanning Mom" accused of bringing her 6-year-old daughter into a tanning booth earlier this year -- said Romney had obviously used bronzer to appeal to Latino voters last Wednesday.

"It's fake," she said of the presidential candidate's self-proclaimed base tan. "That's so fake. It's way too orange."

This isn’t what the law’s backers said would happen. Republican state Senator Scott Beason, a sponsor, said at a news conference last year that the restrictions on undocumented workers would “put thousands of native Alabamians back in the work force.”

Instead, it caused a labor shortage that resulted in the importation of hundreds of legal African and Haitian refugees, and Puerto Ricans, according to interviews with workers, advocacy organizations and businesses.

Plants sought refugees because too few local residents were interested or qualified, said Frank Singleton, a spokesman for Wayne Farms, based in Oakwood, Georgia.

Many legal Hispanic employees left after the immigration law took effect, he said. The company, which operates six plants in the state, spent $5 million to replace and train new workers, he said. Turnover in North Alabama was 50 percent last year, and is now as high as 90 percent in some plants because replacements didn’t stay, he said. The company is “having to use alternative methods and sourcing,” including recruiting refugees, Singleton said.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

(Reuters) - New voting laws in 23 of the 50 states could keep more than 10 million Hispanic U.S. citizens from registering and voting, a new study said on Sunday, a number so large it could affect the outcome of the November 6 election.

The Latino community accounts for more than 10 percent of eligible voters nationally. But the share in some states is high enough that keeping Hispanic voters away from the polls could shift some hard-fought states from support for Democratic President Barack Obama and help his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.

The new laws include purges of people suspected of not being citizens in 16 states that unfairly target Latinos, the civil rights group Advancement Project said in the study to be formally released on Monday.

Laws in effect in one state and pending in two others require proof of citizenship for voter registration. That imposes onerous and sometimes expensive documentation requirements on voters, especially targeting naturalized American citizens, many of whom are Latino, the liberal group said.

Nine states have passed restrictive photo identification laws that impose costs in time and money for millions of Latinos who are citizens but do not yet have the required identification, it said.

Republican-led state legislatures have passed most of the new laws since the party won sweeping victories in state and local elections in 2010.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Ann Romney is once again up on her gold-plated cross, and she's got another message for the ingrates out there who don't appreciate how hard it is to be her:

During an interview early this evening with Radio Iowa, Mrs. Romney directly addressed her fellow Republicans who’ve criticized her husband.

“Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring,” she said. “This is hard and, you know, it’s an important thing that we’re doing right now and it’s an important election and it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt’s qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country.”

She's tried to make Latinos get it:

You’d better really look at your future and figure out who’s going to be the guy that’s going to make it better for you and your children, and there is only one answer. [...]

It really is a message that would resonate well if they could just get past some of their biases that have been there from the Democratic machines that have made us look like we don’t care about this community.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

As Alex Altman reports, Mitt Romney’s bad week just got worse. And the worst
of the worse is Romney’s contention that the 47% of the country who support
Obama are just
looking for handouts. This from a man who pays 14% in taxes–a multi-million
dollar handout that Romney receives because he makes his money via a financial
scheme that enjoys a major tax break from the government. As Michael Grunwald
pointed out last week in his memorable Time cover story, we’re all getting
goodies from the government in one way or another. And yes, it might be a good
idea to review all these subsidies–sugar? cotton? oil?–but it is sheer…I guess
you’d have to call it class warfare to say that only the 47% voting for
Obama are on the dole. How embarrassing: Romney keeps on kicking himself in the
face.

That’s not just a rhetorical question: In Mitt Romney’s heart of hearts, maybe all he really wanted was the Republican nomination.

Every time Romney gets an opportunity to reset the narrative of the election, he makes some psychologically revealing mistake. Giving Clint Eastwood his spotlight, rattling a rubber saber over a tweet from the US embassy in Cairo while it was under attack, writing off half of all American voters as moochers—you only have to tilt your head to see each of these “gaffes” as a cry for help. And Republicans themselves are grumbling about Romney’s skimpy schedule of public events, where real voters might take his measure and enthusiasm for a ground campaign could be generated.

I can think of three good reasons Mitt might be psychologically satisfied with attaining the GOP nomination alone: avenging his father, legitimizing his religion and, well, winning the Republican nomination is generally very good for business.

Californians can register to vote with the click of a mouse in a new online
system launched Wednesday.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen said she
hopes making the process easier will mean more participation in the Nov. 6
election. Some 6.5 million Californians who are eligible to vote are not
registered, she said.

"Today, the Internet replaces the mailbox for thousands of Californians
wishing to register to vote," Bowen said at a Sacramento news conference.

The online system will search the Department of Motor Vehicles database for
the applicant's driver's license and other identifying information and match it
to the electronic form. The potential voters can authorize elections officials
to use an electronic image of their DMV signature to complete the
application.

County elections officials would still need to verify the information,
though, and those without driver's licenses or state identification cards must
still register on paper.

“The next step for us is to document the abuses
and provide the evidence the court has said we need to provide,” Alessandra
Soler, executive director of the American
Civil Liberties Union in Phoenix, told the Los Angeles Times.

“We will do everything we can. We have a community hot line and community
forums planned, and we are training people, trying to get the message out that
people need to report abuses,” Soler said.

Nigel Cart, former CEO of Oriel Wines, offers the following advice to ensure proper preservation of wine:

Store wine away from direct light, which can damage or prematurely age your wine. Ultraviolet light can even penetrate dark-colored glass and impart unpleasant aromas.

Optimum long-term storage temperature is 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit, and sudden dramatic changes in temperature should be avoided. That said, wine will likely last for a year or two between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, as long as changes in temperature are gradual rather than sudden.

Humidity should be between 50 and 80 percent so that the cork doesn't dry out and crumble or lose its seal.

Store wine on its side rather than upright to keep the cork damp.

Wine should be stored in a calm place, as excessive vibration can disturb the sediment and damage the wine.

Face the label upward so that you don't disturb the bottle to check what it is.

Store all wine accessibly so that you're not constantly moving it to get to the bottle you want to drink.

If your most special wine will be opened in a year or two, then you certainly don't need a wine refrigerator. However, if you're saving a special case of wine from the year of your marriage or your child's birth for a big celebration a couple of decades later, then a wine refrigerator is a worthy investment.

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Republican Mitt Romney says a video clip in which he said that nearly half of Americans think they are "victims" was "not elegantly stated." But he says President Barack Obama's approach is "attractive to people who are not paying taxes."

Romney spoke to reporters Monday evening in a hastily called news conference after the emergence of a video in which the GOP presidential nominee told donors that almost half of American voters "believe that they are victims."

In 2010 we helped elect two black conservative Republicans to Congress. This year we are going to elect three. Tim Scott, Mia Love and Allen West.

However, the Democrats despise black conservatives.

They are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at these three champions of limited government.
The liberals are savaging them with horrific negative ads every single day. They are calling them terrible names. They are attacking them personally.

These heroes need our help.

Please make a special generous contribution of $25, $35, $50, $100, $250 or more to help BAMPAC elect Tim Scott of South Carolina, Mia Love of Utah and Allen West of Florida.

BEIJING, Sept 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's attacks on China and promise to name the country a currency manipulator if elected are foolish and hypocritical, China's official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

In a strongly worded English-language commentary, Xinhua said Romney's anti-China rhetoric, if converted into policy upon him assuming office, would trigger a catastrophic trade war and damage the already weak global economic recovery.

"It is rather ironic that a considerable portion of this China-battering politician's wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics," Xinhua wrote.

"Such blaming-China-on-everything remarks are as false as they are foolish, for it has never been a myth that pushing up the value of China's currency would be of little use to boost the chronically slack job market of the world's sole superpower, not to mention to magically turn the poor U.S. economic performance around."

Romney has repeatedly pledged to get tougher with China on its trade and currency practices, including pledging to quickly declare China a currency manipulator if elected.

The main issue is that it oversimplifies an extremely complex problem. The cause of obesity cannot be traced to one drink or food, or its respective size. Health and wellness all make up a daily lifestyle that is dictated by an individual's choices. A consumer who consistently drinks an extra-large soft drink may also eat sugary, fattening foods on a daily basis. Paradoxically, some hale and hearty individuals may carry out a generally healthy life, but soda is their splurge or treat.

Additionally, taking away any kind of freedom engenders negative morale and retaliation that will ultimately create the opposite effect of what is intended. Forcing or imposing limits is not a solution -- rather, empowering and educating individuals to make wise choices makes much more sense.

On Thursday the New York City Health Department became the first in the
nation to ban the sale of sugared beverages larger than 16 oz. at restaurants,
mobile food carts, sports arenas and movie theaters.

It’s a bold experiment in the anti-obesity campaign, and while it’s widely
supported by health professionals, it’s not popular with food retailers or most
city residents.

A former spokesman for Anonymous was arrested late Wednesday, according to the hacker group and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, just hours after posting an online video in which he threatened an FBI agent.Federal authorities have arrested several alleged members of Anonymous over the past year in an effort to disrupt the hacker group, which has taken credit for a series of high-profile cyber attacks.

Hi Everyone, this is Sally W. and I have a personal favor to ask if you can please go to Facebook and cast a vote for Komputers 4 R Kids. It is a nonprofit organization that refurbishes older computers and put them back into the community. That way, children in our schools (ABC School District, Bellflower School District, Norwalk/LA Mirada School District to name a few) and community can use the computers donated from companies like Gallo, Boeing and C&D Aerospace, at the same time reduces the E-Waste going into our landfills. If you want to see what this organization has done so far, go to their website at www.k4rk.org . I am very proud to be associated with this charity and would like to seek your help too. Thanks for your time.

Komputers 4 R Kids
needs your VOTE for
a chance to share in $5 million
through Chase Community Giving

We hope that we have assisted you or your organization in the past
and that you will take just a few minutes of your time to vote for us so
we can continue our work for the community and the environment.

Please also share and forward this link to all your friends and get everyone you know to vote for us.

Houston LibroFEST is a book and arts festival for the general public that highlights Hispanic writers and showcases the vibrant culture of the Latino community through storytelling, crafts and performances for children and adults. Stop by exhibitors' tables and discover what's new from Arte Público Press, Casa Ramírez, Houston Public Library, Literal magazine, MECA, Nuestra Palabra, Society for the Performing Arts and Writers in the Schools.

The iPhone 5 has plenty of new features to keep Apple fans happy. But there is one feature Apple unveiled on Wednesday that is likely to annoy many: a new connector on the phone’s base.

The Lightning port, as Apple calls it, is smaller and shaped differently from the old one, instantly rendering obsolete the millions of spare charging cords, docks and iPhone-ready clock radios that its customers have accumulated over the years.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The nation's leading Republicans marked the 11th anniversary of 9/11 with the words "never forget" on their lips -- most of those using the occasion to promote legislation -- but nearly all of them opposed the bill passed two years ago to help the first responders who suffered health problems in the wake of the attacks.

Prominent among them was vice presidential nominee, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who voted twice against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, and opposed the final passage of the bill.
"Eleven years ago today, from Capitol Hill, I could see the smoke rising from the fires burning in the Pentagon. Like all Americans, I will never forget the moment that our homeland came under attack," Ryan said in a statement. "For me, this is a day to remember those who perished on that day of terror, including the first responders."

CAIRO — The United States ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was killed along with three of his staff members in a furious attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday night by an armed mob angry over a short American-made video mocking Islam’s founding prophet, the White House and Libyan officials said on Wednesday.

In a statement confirming the four fatalities, President Obama said he strongly condemned the killings and had ordered increased security at American diplomatic posts around the world. It was the first death of an American envoy abroad in more than two decades.

Congressman Steve King (R-IA) participated in a radio debate with Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack last night, and was given a chance to explain a comment he made in May comparing immigrants to dogs.

But instead of apologizing, or even explaining how he simply misspoke, King told the audience that the comment was really meant as a compliment, and that anyone who interpreted it as an insult — namely, everyone — was simply motivated by partisanship and incapable of cooperation

Sunday, September 9, 2012

The fallout over Facebook’s controversial initial public offering has turned into a full-blown blame-fest. In the three months since the social network’s mammoth IPO, the company’s stock has fallen by a stomach-churning 50%, wiping out some $50 billion in shareholder value. The offering was supposed to be a triumphant moment for Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Instead, between trading glitches on the NASDAQ exchange, accusations of “selective disclosure” against Facebook’s bankers, and the precipitous stock decline, the whole thing has turned into a debacle of epic proportions. So whose fault is it? Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg? Company CFO David Ebersman? Facebook’s Wall Street bankers? Naive investors and their financial advisers? The short answer is that it’s too simple to blame any single person or entity. All parties in this mess bear responsibility, although each in different ways.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), stressed in interviews on Sunday that they would offset tax cuts for the wealthy by closing tax loopholes. But pressed on which loopholes they would close, both of them dodged the question.

To them, Latino is synonymous with undocumented. State governments wage wars of attrition against us, and the federal government deports us in record numbers. The Republican Party shores up its platform planks against us (as Kris Kobach reportedly has done in advance of the Republican National Convention this coming week), and “illegal” has become an epithet applied indiscriminately.

Even when we’re uncontestably documented, our public figures and role models are criticized for not being up to standard. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, for example, has been characterized as less intellectually rigorous than her colleagues during her confirmation hearings. And even Sen. Marco Rubio — long spoken about as a possible vice-presidential pick by Mitt Romney — was drawn as a more-flash-than-substance candidate by academics tracking the race.

There is no quick fix to the stereotypes people have about us — only hard work to refute them. We cannot cede our voice in this — we have to tell the stories about Latinos that those study respondents need to hear.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Just think of these freeway closures as dress rehearsals for the upcoming sequel to last summer's transit drama known as "Carmageddon."
Transportation officials will close portions of the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass over the next two weekends so that workers can prepare the remaining (north) half of the Mulholland Bridge for the final phase of its demolition. The work is in anticipation of what is billed as "Carmageddon II" -- the full 10-mile closure of the 405 Freeway, in both directions, between the 10 and the 101.
The first preparatory closure -- of the southbound 405 between the 101 and Getty Center Drive -- will begin at 11 p.m. Saturday and end at 9 a.m. Sunday. The northbound 405 between Getty Center Drive and Ventura Boulevard will close at 11 p.m. Sept. 15 and reopen at 9 a.m. on Sept. 16.
That 53-hour closure is slated to begin about 7 p.m. on Sept. 28, when workers begin shutting down ramps along the closure route. Individual lanes will begin closing about 10 p.m., with the entire freeway expected to be closed by midnight. The closure is expected to continue until 5 a.m. Oct. 1.
The work is part of the epic project to add a carpool lane through the Sepulveda Pass.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Border Action Network (BAN) Response to SB1070 (2b) Ruling
The sections of the 2(b) provision of SB 1070 that were upheld by Arizona Judge Bolton on Wednesday deeply affect our community. Despite protests by various civil rights groups, who assert that racial profiling would have to play a part in the enforcement of what has been called the “papers please” provision of the law, Bolton's ruling will require police officers who have stopped an individual to inquire about immigration status if they have any reason to suspect the person is in this country illegally. "This decision may be legal but is not moral. It jeopardizes the community by undermining the community’s perception of law enforcement," says Mike Wilson, BAN's Policy Director. "Immigrant communities live in fear as their status is criminalized by immoral legislation. The implementation of these laws is known to perpetuate racial profiling.”
Michael Monyak, Administrator for BAN, expressed his concerns about the law's potentially negative effect on all members of the community. “This latest blow to our already stressed state will result in increased costs for tax payers and will put an undue burden on our local first responders," he says. "Hatred and prejudice do not contribute to the public good.”
The law could be implemented in some communities in as few as 10 days (from September 5th.)
Where to get help: Here is a hot line to report abuses: 1-855-RESPETO (737-7386). The ACLU also has an online complaint form, http://www.acluaz.org/get-help.

But the U.S. Supreme Court laid a legal minefield that Arizona now must navigate when the critical provision takes effect. The clause, one of the few significant ones that the high court left standing in a June ruling, requires all Arizona police officers to check the immigration status of people they stop while enforcing other laws and suspect are in the country illegally.

While preserving that requirement, however, the Supreme Court explicitly left the door open to arguments that the law leads to civil rights violations. Attorneys would need actual victims to make that case.

I, and others, are drawing another conclusion from your cowardly letter, and the craven way your office announced that it was washing its hands of its long probe into Arpaio and Thomas' blatant and unconstitutional abuses of power.

That is, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, and the Justice Department are worthless at holding accountable law enforcement agencies run amok. They cannot be trusted to protect us when local tyrants — no better than mobsters — operate illegally under the color of law to harass, intimidate, falsely charge, arrest, and imprison anybody from undocumented corn vendors to judges to county supervisors to reporters and newspaper editors.

The debate over whether to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants has a usefully neurological angle: It's a way of defining "insanity" as the process of shooting yourself in the foot in the expectation that someone else will scream in pain.

The people who are supposedly afflicted with the pain are undocumented immigrants, who are theoretically deprived of the right to drive on our roads. The injury inflicted on society arises from the fact that many of the supposed targets of this punishment drive anyway. They just do so without training, without testing and without insurance.

Does this sound rational to you? If so, here's your straitjacket

"For 60 years, California had the safest highways in the country," observes Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles). "Then we started playing immigration politics with highway safety, and our highways got a lot less safe."

Mitt Romney’s tax returns are reportedly in the hands of a team of hackers who plan on releasing them publicly at the end of the month unless a ransom is paid.

The group allegedly obtained the files from PricewaterhouseCooper’s Tennessee office on Aug. 25, in what was described on PasteBin as a Mission Impossible-like caper:

The files are to be released to the public on Sept. 28, according to the PasteBin document.

The release, however, could allegedly be avoided if Romney’s camp were to wire transfer $1 million in Bitcoins — an online currency that is difficult both to trace and to identify.

“The keys to unlock the data will be purged and whatever is inside the documents will remain a secret forever,” states another PasteBin document. “Failure to do this before September 28, the entire world will be allowed to view the documents with a publicly released key to unlock everything.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Gregory Devereaux is the chief executive of San Bernardino County and its 2 million residents. At his urging, local authorities are considering a proposal that would allow local governments to exercise their power to seize private property without landowners' consent in a dramatic -- some say radical -- new way.

Governments usually use this power, known as eminent domain, to acquire private land for public purposes, such as roads or utility lines. But this plan, proposed by a San Francisco-based venture fund Mortgage Resolution Partners, calls for government authorities to seize the mortgages of underwater borrowers, paying the investors that own them a fraction of what they are owed, using money borrowed from the fund. Homeowners could then refinance with a federal loan at a much lower rate, based on what their home is actually worth instead of what they owe.

Approximately 50,000 eligible Latino U.S. citizens turn 18 every month, yet many aren’t being registered to vote. We are challenging our supporters to close this gap by playing a larger role in this year’s election through our Mobilize to Vote Challenge. Make sure your friends and family have a voice in the future of our country. SIGN UP

Saturday, September 1, 2012

RNC Convention Workers Being Paid Below Minimum Wage
Carolyn Walker said she has been cleaning the convention center for 13 years. She had been making $8 per hour until a few years ago, when the cleaning contract went to another company, Cleanevent USA. The new company meant a new, downsized paycheck. She's now making minimum wage -- $7.67 per hour. But that wasn't the only hit to her wallet.

Walker said the company charges her $6 per week for uniforms. "It stinks to tell you the truth," she said. "We work very hard." It effectively means she's making less than Florida's minimum wage.